Rugby league is in mourning following the death of much-loved Queensland Origin star Carl Webb.
Webb died on Thursday night after a four-year battle with motor neurone disease. He was just 42.
Webb played 187 first-grade matches across a brilliant career for the Brisbane Broncos, North Queensland Cowboys and Parramatta Eels.
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He also played 12 Origin matches for Queensland and one Test for Australia in 2008.
Webb was diagnosed with MND in early 2020.
MND progressively damages parts of the nervous system and eventually leads to muscle weakness, speech impairment, and paralysis.
In one of his final interviews, Webb spoke about the difficulties of his day-to-day life.
“At the moment I’m still quite capable and independent, however, I’m under no illusions about what’s to come in the future,” Webb told Nine in April.
“Raising a glass or bottle to my mouth to drink, those little arbitrary tasks throughout the day, are quite challenging now.
“I maintain a level of strength, getting out of bed every day so you can keep, sort of, and realising that you’re kind of trapped in a body that’s not working so well.”
The father-of-four also said he wanted to spend as much time as possible with his young children.
Webb set up a foundation to help others with the disease (the Carl Webb Foundation) and just last month held a lunch to raise funds.
“Amazing day raising awareness and money for Motor Neurone Disease. Thank you to everyone who came along and supported Carl and all of those who are facing this horrible disease,” the foundation posted on social media with a short clip of the lunch.
More to come …